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Ordinary Monsters

The Talents, Book 1

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Ordinary Monsters

By: J M Miro
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro, read by Ben Onwukwe.

* THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *

'An enthralling read' GUARDIAN
'A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed' SFX
'Terrific . . . A book that creeps up on you, wearing brass knuckles' CONN IGGULDEN
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The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, ORDINARY MONSTERS introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.

There in the shadows was a figure in a cloak, at the bottom of the cobblestone stair, and it turned and stared up at them as still and unmoving as a pillar of darkness, but it had no face, only smoke . . .

1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness – a man made of smoke.

Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.

What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children – the Talents – have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
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'A dazzling mountain of wild invention, Dickensian eccentrics, supernatural horrors and gripping suspense' JOE HILL

'Expansive in scope and storytelling, Ordinary Monsters builds an electrifying Victorian world' CARI THOMAS

J.M. Miro's book 'Ordinary Monsters' was a #5 Sunday Times bestseller w/e 04-06-2022.©2022 Ides of March Creative Inc. (P)2022 Macmillan Audio Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical England Paranormal Emotionally Gripping Scotland
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The way the material is read is sublime, and I thoroughly enjoyed the alternate history world. The story is however often bogged down by endless narration of surroundings, stances, attitudes and by the many many thoroughly unlikeable heroes and foes. Even the kids have little to no agency and are generally just swept along and being drowned. Not sure if I'll even bother buyibg the sequel, although I'll be looking for more audio books by this narrator. Overall it leaves me unsatisfied.

Great wordlbuilding, very longwinded prose

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I really enjoyed the first 18+ hours of this story but lost the plot with only 7 hours to go when I found I no longer understood (or, sadly, cared) what was going on ... I enjoyed the sections set in the USA, Victorian England and Japan, especially the historical aspects, but then started to find the plot confusing ... I'm probably too old to appreciate this type of fantasy fiction which is a shame as I thought it was very well written - really brilliant narrator too ...

More suited to a YA listener maybe?

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What a fantastic epic story, can't wait for book 2 to be available as an audiobook.

Epic Story

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... deep delve into its characters and other world. I loved it. There are a lot of characters in this book, but because the author did a fantastic job taking his time letting us, the reader/listener getting to know them, I found myself emotionally connecting to them and this is the real art of a book. It takes you out of yourself, you're somewhere else, with the children as they face everything from racism in the USA to poverty on the streets of London, to having the one person they should be able to trust, betray them.

Read by Ben Onwukwe, he gives every character their own voice and has a genuine empathy for the children as they traverse their very singular worlds, he is a wonderful reader and the perfect choice for this book.

J M Miro is one to watch, this is a future classic in the making.

A beautifully written.......

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It was ok, wandered somewhat but I would give a sequel a read ...... probably.

As a Scot, the accents didn't bother me.

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